Chapter 2: Poolside Invitations

*Heiro Strakilis’s POV*

Sufficiently intoxicated, I swam another lap lazily around the pool. It was warm, heated naturally from the volcanic spring below. Deimos laughed loudly at one of Atlas' clever jokes and the sound was near deafening as it bounced off of the marble tiles that covered the entire room from floor to ceiling.

We'd been at the bath house for hours and none of us seemed ready to leave despite the sun setting outside and pruning of our tanned skin. Though, Atlas was rather pale. We always jested that his mother was one of the blond barbarians from the north.

"Didn't we have plans tonight?" I called out to none of them in particular.

Deimos waded towards me with an impish smirk and ducked his head below the water to wet his hair. When he popped back up, he was inches from my face. "Are you eager to leave?"

I subtly took in a mouthful of water and spit it in his face. "I'm pruning. I don't want to be wrinkled for the party."

He licked at the water I'd spit at him from around his lips. "You're the male equivalent of Venus, I highly doubt even a few wrinkles could detract from that."

"Careful, Deimos. Flattery will get you everywhere," I teased as I waded away from him. He followed.

He cocked his thick, dark eyebrow and dove below the water once more. Then, I felt his thick arm wind around my waist before he emerged, his nose brushing against mine. When he leaned in as if he were going for a kiss, I met him halfway.

He wrapped a hand around my thigh and pulled it between his legs, his already hard cock pushing into my hip.

"You fiend," I gasped into his parted lips. Then, I snaked my arm around his neck as my other hand reached down between the both of us. When my hand gripped his girth, he sucked in a sharp inhale and pressed his tongue between my teeth, licking coyly before he pulled away.

"Would you two save it for the party?" It was Kyros' voice that broke me from the haze.

Slowly, I pulled away from Deimos. But, not before spitting another mouthful of water in his face. Other men were staring at our little display. There was a time and place for such things, and this was neither.

Our statuses as archon let us get away with plenty, but there was a limit to everything in life. As there should be. Without limits, there was no joy to be had in pushing them.

*Eris’ POV*

I entered the bath house on the side reserved for women and made my way to the changing room. After stripping down and hanging my evening dress on a hook, I waded into the water and felt the ache immediately begin to seep from my bones. The warm water rippled around me as steam rose from the surface and engulfed me. I took a deep inhale of the steam and felt it soothe my lungs.

There was no one else in the pool because women didn't typically come out this late to the bathhouse. It's why it was my favorite time to visit. The bathhouse was large enough to hold thirty or so people comfortably. But there were rarely that many in here at once, even during their busiest hours.

If I listened closely, I could hear plenty of men on the other side. They laughed and I heard the low rumbling of their voices as they spoke of important matters and of their days. Then, the sudden sound of a wine jug shattering. I wished that I could be over there.

There was a conjoined soaking area for men and women but it was rarely used except for private events. But those weren't something I was ever invited to. I was too low down socially and economically.

I listened with reverence to the men as I floated naked on my back. The ceiling was made of glass and the night sky was visible in the low light that was cast from the large copper bowls that each held a flame. Above me was a beautiful moon set against a dark indigo sky. The stars swirled amongst wisps of green and purple hues. Small and fluffy clouds floated across one by one.

The sound of men’s voices growing louder snapped me to attention and I sank further into the water. Slowly, I began to move closer to the stairs that would lead me out of the water and to the changing area.

"We should stop someplace for a drink on the way," I heard a deep voice say. I should have kept swimming towards the exit, but I paused to eavesdrop.

Then, another masculine voice replied. "There's going to be plenty of wine there. It's the Kimon family. There's no sense in drinking beforehand."

"It's just one drink."

"I don't want to show up with you sloppy drunk."

The other man made a scoffing sound and then I heard a wet slap and a laugh. They were just around the corner and I didn't have time to make any kind of exit.

"Oh, look at this, Heiro," the first man said with a song in his voice as he came around the corner and locked eyes with me immediately. He had dark olive skin with the darkest brown hair. His smile was all the more dazzling set against his dark features and beard.

I glanced at the other man and immediately recognized him as the man from the market – the one that told me I looked good with my mouth open. Ape.

As soon as I met the eyes of the man called Heiro, I frowned. "This is the women’s side," I said as I did my best to hide my breasts below the water.

"Apologies, miss...?" The dark haired one stood there naked, smiling at me like a lunatic.

In a snap decision, I swallowed my discomfort and rage. "Vasilia," I answered him.

"I'm familiar with that name." He cocked his sculpted hip and crossed his arms over his large chest. "The tavern keeper's daughter?"

I nodded slowly, afraid to move from the safety of the water that partially concealed me.

Heiro eyed me carefully. His bright green eyes were effervescent in the shifting light of the waters. "Are you the younger daughter, or the older?" He asked as he tried to look upon my nakedness. I hoped that the low light and rippling water’s surface was enough to hide me from view.

I sunk a bit deeper until my lips were just barely above the water. "The younger."

This gave him reason to smile. "I remember you."

Before I could even speak out against it, Heiro was wading into the waters of the pool towards me.

"What are you doing?" I asked shrilly but he wasn't slowing down. The other man laughed and started making his way around the pool to the other side.

I didn't know which one to keep an eye on but it didn't matter much because soon, Heiro was within arms reach.

"What is a little thing like you doing out and about all alone?" He cocked his head to the side and gave me a predatory smile.

"I wanted a bath," I said too softly.

He sunk down into the water so that we were both just barely above the waterline. "I've never seen you here before."

"You make a habit out of coming into the women’s side of the bath house?" I snapped.

He chuckled and the dimples in his cheeks dug deeply. "It's usually empty over here in our defense."

"Well it's not empty now," I said with a bit of a bite as I felt my eyebrow cock upwards.

"No it's not," a voice said from behind me. The other one, the darker one. He swam up behind me too close for comfort. I felt exposed and trapped. Yet, there was something exciting about them surrounding me.

Heiro swam closer to me, like a lion stalking wounded prey. "You have gorgeous eyes, little Vasilia."

"Eris," I gave him my first name before adding, "and so do you."

He smiled. "My friends call me Heiro, but you can call me Kyrios."

Kyrios was a title meaning Master. I laughed in his face and watched as delight blossomed in his expression.

"What are you doing tonight little Eris?" Heiro asked me as I felt the faintest sensation of finger tips tracing upwards from my thigh to my lower back.

I swam away from the man behind me but that only brought me closer to Heiro. "If I'm not home for supper, my father will grow worried." I couldn't help the smile that tugged at the corners of my lips. Perhaps I was finally losing my mind or maybe the heat was just getting to me.

Crazy or not though, it didn’t matter.

These men were nobles, powerful men with pull and sway. Getting close to them was my potential foot in the door to the life of the rich and the powerful. Sure, it wasn’t how I had envisioned it, but it felt like an opportunity was knocking and I wasn’t about to ignore it.

"We wouldn't want him to worry," the man behind me said, much too close to me. "Why don't you come to a party with us, we'll keep you safe from all the wicked things that bump in the night."

The way he said it caused chills to travel down my spine right to the root of my hips. A warm sensation bloomed between them and I bit down on my tongue to silence the whimper that danced behind my teeth like a caged fox.

I was being a fool, I knew that. I shouldn’t be enjoying this as much as I was but my longing for a better life overtook my sense of reason.